ESL FEM – Department of Resource and Environmental Economics, Faculty of Economics and Management (ESL-FEM) IPB University conducted an international guest lecture by presenting lecturers / researchers from Seoul National University Dr. Ho San Kang. This lecture will take place in the 2019 ESL Sustainability Expo series.

The event which was held on Thursday (12/12) at FEM building, Dramaga Campus of IPB, Bogor discussed the sustainable management of forest areas and the efforts of the Korean government to carry out a successful reforestation program after the civil war.

The event was opened by the Dean of FEM IPB University, Prof. Dr. Nunung Nuryartono who officially opened the event. In his remarks Prof. Nunung Nuryartono mentioned the importance of protecting the earth from climate change.

“Sustainability is something that allows us to take advantage of what we have now while preserving it for generations to come.
The topic of sustainable forest management is very important for us to discuss today. Not long ago, I went to Australia and they were recently experiencing a quite severe forest fire, of course the issue of sustainable forest management is also an important issue, “said Prof. Nunung.

Prof. Nunung also hoped that the guest lecture would build better international relations between FEM IPB University and Seoul National University.
On this occasion, Dr. Ho Sang Kang delivered about forest management in Korea starting from the post-civil war to the present.

“After the civil war ended, we began to focus on carrying out reforestation, we together with the local community worked hand in hand to resolve the problem of the destruction of our forests after the war.

“The government is also trying to buy forest areas that still belong to individuals to speed up the reforestation process of these forests,” he said.
He admitted, law enforcement was even more effective because the government was intensively buying these lands specifically for reforestation and turned into tourist forests.

He also said that sustainable forest management systems must be supported by good law enforcement.
“From our success story, in addition to utilizing technology and bringing in experts from abroad, we are really serious about our law enforcement, especially in the management of forest areas.

In the 60’s, dozens of people went to jail for violating rules related to forest management, after that, we were able to really accelerate the development of our forest areas into forest tourism areas. One of them in my hometown is the city of Busan, which was recently visited by the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Mr. Joko Widodo “said Dr. Ho Sang Kang.
At the end of the lecture session, Dr Ho appealed to the Indonesian government to tighten the rule of law regarding forest governance. (Df / RA)